Book Review
‘ 60 years of Agricultural Engineering ,’
by Charles Crosby
Well-known agricultural engineer and former Department of Agriculture chief director and senior engineer Charles Crosby has written an informative and readable book detailing his 60 year career in agriculture .
A generous and sincere mentor to many people , it is characteristic of Crosby , an Honorary member of SABI , to have written this book , hoping the account will help up-and-coming agricultural engineers on their career paths . Notably though , the book will also make for a uniquely interesting read for those interested in South African and international agriculture ( from the business side of tractors to the technical aspects of every part of agriculture imaginable ) and management in South Africa . Agricultural engineering and rural development are both passions of Crosby , and he says he will focus more on rural development in a second volume .
Crosby makes the very valid point that agricultural engineering – even while many people are not familiar with the discipline – is set to play a major role in sub-Saharan Africa . He says : “ Dramatic changes are at this moment taking place throughout sub-Saharan Africa where it is acknowledged that the development of agriculture is of prime economic and social importance .”
Crosby , who has retired to the Strand in the Western Cape , says that his business autobiography is “ an account of 60 years of agricultural engineering in South Africa , 1948-2009 . It has been written because few people know what an agricultural engineer is , and what he does .”
It is fascinating to read about Crosby ’ s university days , where he attended the University of Pretoria , an Afrikaans university as an “ Engelsman ”/ Englishman - and received a lot of support from his classmates in his initial struggles to study in Afrikaans , which he later became fluent in .
Notably , after his retirement at 64 Crosby “ freelanced for another 20 years working with consultants , major research organisations and particularly with many aspects of rural development particularly in connection with rainfall harvesting , irrigation , food security and poverty alleviation .”
It is fascinating to sit with Crosby these days chatting about topics he maintains an active interest in like rainfall harvesting .
There is , of course , some great information in the book about irrigation in South Africa the development of the new Water Law and much more . Crosby met the well-known farming family the Karstens years ago – and he tells us in the book how early on they started exploring techniques such as drip irrigation early on .
Crosby ’ s impressive work ethic and intellectual dynamism are inspirational . He says that in fact as he has always had a short attention span , he purposefully developed a skill in studying very broadly and deeply – to learn everything about a subject to make up for his attentiveness sometimes wandering .
He describes his career as extremely varied : ranging from municipal engineering in Cape Town to being a lecturer and manager in agriculture . He lectured at Cedara , worked in private industry for UK and USA based firms and had a long career in government . Crosby was with the Department of Agriculture for 20 years in various managerial positions . He has such a wealth of knowledge to share , which he presents in his 60 year book .
In modest fashion he says : “ I worked with many very wonderful people who taught me much about managing and overcoming the many constraints imposed by the inevitable frustrations that all organisations , big or small , are subject to by the procedures and systems so rife in our Western way of life . In my reminiscences I have tried to show how these people set about achieving this , each in his , or her , own situation .”
There are a lot of excellent tips on management styles . There are some amusing anecdotes and comments . Lots of wisdom – such as the adage “ people are not elephants ”. Meaning people do forget – unlike elephants .
It must be noted that in the launch months of SABI magazine some eight years ago , Crosby ’ s frequent Skype calls to the editorial team made us both nervous and helped to dispel our nerves ! He was incredibly generous with ideas , advice and references to his immense network of contacts – from pasture experts in the Eastern Cape to precision irrigation pundits in Douglas – and shared them with us . We congratulate him on his book and thank Charles Crosby for sharing his knowledge with us !
Reviewed by Carol Posthumus
You can read 60 Years by Charles Crosby free-of-charge at : http :// www . capecfd . co . za / CTC _ 60years . epub , http :// www . capecfd . co . za / CTC _ 60years . mobi .
It is a must-read for students of agricultural engineering and those with an interest in the field of engineering , locally and internationally .
40
SABI | AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2016